Home owners in England and Wales expect prices to rise in next six months

10th May 2017

The vast majority of home owners in England and Wales are confident that property prices will continue to rise in the next six months but fewer are planning to buy or sell.

Overall 87% are confident of property price growth, according to the latest housing market sentiment survey from property portal Zoopla, up 4% since October 2016, but below the 92% recorded at this time last year.

The data also shows that just 18% of home owners are intending to buy a property in the next six months, down 7% since October 2016, and only 17% plan to sell, a fall of 6%.

Regionally, home owners in the East are the most confident about their local property market, with 89% expecting to see an increase in property values over the next six months, followed by 88% in the East Midlands.

Home owners in the East Midlands are the most optimistic about growth rates, expecting a double digit rise of 10%, up from 7.6% six months ago, followed by London where owners are anticipating property increases of 9.9%, then the East of England with 8.1%.

Owners in Wales and the North East are least optimistic about property price growth with 68% and 69% expecting a rise. Those in the North West have the most modest expectations, predicting rises of 5.9%, almost half the rate of growth expected by the region this time last year when it was 10.5%.

In addition, obtaining mortgage approval is now seemingly easier than it was this time last year. Only 29 per cent believe it is now more difficult to get approval for a mortgage, down 3% from 12 months ago.

‘Despite a continued period of political uncertainty, it’s encouraging to see a rise in confidence for property price growth. However, despite this, we can’t ignore that there’s been a rise in reluctance to buy and sell properties,’ said Lawrence Hall, spokesperson for Zoopla.

‘With the upcoming general election, it’s perhaps no surprise that people may be holding out to make a purchase or sale decision until after the election on 08 June,’ he added.